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David Eddings
David Eddings Born July 7, 1931 (1931-07-07) (age 76) Spokane, Washington Died June 2, 2009(1931-07-07) (age 76) Carson City, Nevada Occupation Novelist Genres Fantasy Debut works Novel: High Hunt Magnum Opus Novel: The Belgariad David Eddings, born July 7, 1931, died June 2, 2009 is an American author who has written several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings, is uncredited as co-author on many of his early books, but he has lately acknowledged that she contributed to them all. Born in Spokane, Washington, Eddings grew up in Puget Sound before graduating with a BA from Reed College in 1954 and an MA from the University of Washington in 1961. Before becoming an author he worked for the United States Army and the Boeing Company. He spent the last years of his life in Carson City, Nevada, in the southwest United States, where he died on June 2, 2009. David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. Inspired by the ongoing success of the Lord of the Rings (often refferring to its author as Papa Tolkien), and interested in the use of the mythic cycle as a storytelling technique, he later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he has achieved great success. On January 26th, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw into the puddle to test if it was still flammable. On February 28th, 2007 Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69. Eddings died of natural causes two years later. Biography David was born in Washington 1931, and grew up near Seattle. In the ‘Rivan Codex,’ he described a good day in Seattle as ‘when it isn’t raining up;’ rain became a consequent feature in many of his novels. After graduating in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. David displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. In his own words, ‘I tore that junior college up!’ He wrote a novel for a thesis at Reed College, in Oregon before being drafted into the US army. Sent to Germany, David made the, ‘obligatory pilgrimages,’ to Paris, Vienna, Rome, Naples, London, Berlin and Florence before returning to Washington. Although his studies in Washington concentrated mainly on American fiction, David taught himself Middle English and, ‘Fell in love,’ with Chaucer and Sir Thomas Malory. During his college years, he worked part-time in a grocery store before becoming a buyer for Boeing rocket ships. It was during this time that he met his future wife, and writing partner, Leigh. Leigh had already led a colourful life, flying in the royal Air Force, and was a talented cook, fisherwoman and an excellent markswoman. David was also highly annoyed that her security clearance was much higher than his own was. After several years as a college lecturer, a failure to receive a pay rise drove David to leave his job, move to Denver and seek work in another grocery store. He also began work on his first published novel ‘High Hunt,’ the story of four young men hunting deer. Like many of his later novels, it explores themes of manhood and coming of age. Convinced that being an author was his future career, David moved to Spokane where he once again relied on a job at a grocery shop for his funds. He worked on several unpublished novels, including ‘Hunseeker’s Ascent,’ a story about mountain climbing, which was later burned as David claimed it was, ‘a piece of tripe so bad it even bored me.’ Most of his attempts followed the same vein as High Hunt, adventure stories and contemporary tragedies. ‘The Losers,’ tells the story of God and the Devil, cast in the roles of a one-eyed Indian and Jake Flood was not published until June 1992, well after David’s success as an author was established, although it was written in the seventies. David’s call to the world of fantasy came from a doodled map he drew one morning before work. This doodle later became the geographical basis for the world of Aloria, but David did not realise it until several years later. Upon seeing a copy of Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ in a bookshop, he allegedly muttered, ‘Is this old turkey still floating around?’ and was shocked to learn that it was in its seventy-eighth printing. David realised that the world of fantasy might hold some promise for his talents, and immediately began to annotate his previously forgotten doodle. World Building When building a 'world' for his characters to inhabit, Eddings generally starts with a fictional map, sections off areas of that map, and populates each area with a different race. In generating races, Eddings will first pick a race or people from our history, then base his fictional race within his new 'world' almost directly on them (with some minor renaming). Examples of this can be seen throughout his fantasy output. A great deal of the sub-storyline elements depend on the tension that is created from these disparate races being forced together. Characters Individuals belonging to each race tend to be painted in broad strokes, and 1 or 2 distinct stereotypical characteristics are generally used to define them fully. For example, Chereks are warlike and drink heavily, Sendars are dependable and practical, etc. Most characters are ultimately facets of the same basic personality, with one or two key character traits added. Some readers have expressed distaste at this approach, feeling that the constant stereotyping borders on racismhttp://www.fantasyfreaks.org/reviews/mike/elenium.html, although interracial couples seem to crop up continually throughout all four major story-lines, and characters who deny their racial stereotypes also appear in both series (Beltira & Belkira, the gentle Alorns, Ontrose, the quick-witted Arend, and The Blind Prophet, a kindly Angarak). Bibliography The Belgariad and The Malloreon The Belgariad is Eddings' first fantasy series; The Malloreon is the sequel. The books follow the adventures of Garion, Polgara, Belgarath, and their companions. For a comprehensive list of major/minor characters in The Belgariad, see Characters in The Belgariad. For a list of the races and their real world counterparts, see Analogs To Belgariad Races. The Belgariad #''Pawn of Prophecy'' #''Queen of Sorcery'' #''Magician's Gambit'' #''Castle of Wizardry'' #''Enchanters' End Game'' On finishing his first draft of the Belgariad, David sent his proposal to Ballatine books, which got lost in the post. A second copy was sent, and David was finally on his way to completing his vision. Amongst other setbacks, David was forced to reduce the length of his prologues to under eight pages, and the original forms were later published as two complete novels, ‘Belgarath the Sorcerer,’ and ‘Polgara the Sorceress.’ David also had a disagreement with del Rey, who wanted to rename Aloria ‘Alornia.’ David’s partner, Leigh, managed to talk him out of the idea, insisting that, ‘Alornia sounds like a sort of cookie!’ The Belgariad developed many new technical and philosophical ideas when it was published in 1983, which helped to contribute to its almost immediate success. David wanted to convince both his agent del Rey, and the world of fantasy, that women did exist ‘below the neck.’ As he pointed out in The Rivan Codex, ‘There are no girl hobbits. There are matronly hobbit ladies, and female hobbit puppies, but no girls.’ Most previous fantasies had followed suit with this idea. He also wanted to create a fantasy that was noticeably different from any that had gone before. (Bel)Garion, the hero of the Belgariad is certainly less than heroic, even by the end of the novels. Most of the time, he has no idea what is going on, and consequently the plotlines are explained (both to Garion and to the reader) by his Aunt Polgara and his grandfather Belgarath. Incidentally, Polgara and Belgarath are both sorcerers, and this father and daughter pairing broke new ground in the fantasy genre. David also wanted an active heroine in his story, rather than the traditional ‘wispy blonde girl who spends most of her time mooning around in a tower.’ Ce‘Nedra is a flame-haired brat, whose seductive relationship with Garion is delicately balanced by a meaningful friendship with Polgara, who helps her to grow up. The Belgariad, however, remains a classic fantasy to its core. The religion is paganism, there is a magical object, in the form of Cthrag Yaska (Or the Orb of Aldur) and a quest. As David once wrote, ‘If you don’t have a quest, you don’t have a story. A quest gives you an excuse to dash around and meet new people. Otherwise, you stay home and grow turnips or something.’ The Belgariad also features a great deal of magic. At first, David had problems with his self-entitled ‘Superman Syndrome,’ that is, that people can do infinite amounts of magic, with no consequences. He also did not want a style of magic involving incantations because ‘Sooner or later some nut is going to take you seriously.’ Eventually, the Will and the Word was born, a magic that involves on strength of conviction (and the correct word.) Doing things with one’s mind also tends to tire one out, and this eliminated Superman Syndrome. Finally, David wrote the ‘Holy Books’ in order to give conviction to his nine God religion. The Malloreon #''Guardians of the West'' #''King of the Murgos'' #''Demon Lord of Karanda'' #''Sorceress of Darshiva'' #''The Seeress of Kell'' published in the USA and UK by Bantam After the publication of ‘Enchanter’s End Game,’ a sequel was inevitable. David had a major problem however, as he had already killed off his villain. Zandramas, Torak’s heir, was invented to solve this problem, and also became the natural counter to Polgara. Female characters become a lot more prominent in the Malloreon, as did many of the minor characters from the previous series. Garion and Ce’Nedra both remained central to the novel, as David wanted to see how they would function as adults. David also kept his favourite character, Silk, although he countered him with his future wife, Liselle. Belgarath and Polgara, David and Leigh’s alter egos, continued their roles as mentors throughout the series. Around halfway through his work on the Malloreon, an accidental conversation between David and del Rey sparked off the beginnings of another series, the Elenium. The Elenium is more of a typical fantasy, featuring knights in armour, and a young heroine who needs to be saved. The religion featured is not called Christianity, but there are enough similarities between the two religions for us to realise that the Elenium is constantly gently mocking it. David had already written about Christianity, in the allegoric The Losers, as well as in the Belgariad. Torak is almost identical to the Devil, whilst Eriond, the original intent of the Universe, has definite Christ-like qualities. The Malloreon was also highly Manichesical, with the belief that good and evil are evenly matched. Existentialism also makes an appearance, when Cyradis the seer is forced to make the final decision between good and evil, in order to save the world. Books related to The Belgariad and The Malloreon *''The Rivan Codex'' Having studied the world of Middle English fantasy at graduate school, Eddings believed he had a fair idea of how to go about creating a secondary universe. He began to create ‘The Belgariad Preliminaries,’ in 1978 and 79, which eventually became ‘The Rivan Codex.’ Eddings’s most famous creation, ‘The Belgariad,’ began to take shape, originally in the form of three novels, entitled ‘Garion,’ ‘Ce’Nedra,’ and ‘Kal Torak,’ after the series’ hero, heroine and villain. His agent, Lester del Rey, was convinced that only books under three hundred pages long, and sold for less than three dollars, were going to be publishable. Del Rey constructed the ‘chess-piece’ titles we know today and although Eddings envisaged the final book entitled ‘In the Tomb of the One-Eyed God,’ del Rey thought the title too long to fit on the front cover of the book. *''Belgarath the Sorcerer'' *''Polgara the Sorceress'' After a short break from writing, rumors began to circulate about another Sparhawk adventure, although these were quashed by the publication of Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Intended as prequels for the Belgariad, they told the individual stories of Garion’s immortal family. It was also the first time that David had tried writing in the first person. The success of the two fictional autobiographies prompted David and his wife to publish the preliminary studies to the Belgariad and the Malloreon, in the form of The Rivan Codex. The Rivan Codex also provides the reader with David’s short autobiography, a guide on writing fantasy and the diary of King Anheg of Cherek, one of David’s personal favorites, as well as the firm promise that there would be no more Garion stories. David also refused to create the Mrin and Darine Codex, the two fictional prophecies around which the Belgariad and the Malloreon were based, unless his agent agreed to print them on a scroll of parchment. Any disappointment the reader felt however was quickly averted by the publication of ‘The Redemption of Althalus,’ in 2000. The Elenium and The Tamuli The Elenium and its sequel The Tamuli are set in a different universe to The Belgariad and The Malloreon. They feature the Pandion Knight Sparhawk and his comrades. The Elenium #''The Diamond Throne'' #''The Ruby Knight'' #''The Sapphire Rose'' Once again, the Elenium featured a magical jewel, in the form of the Bhelliom/Blue-rose, a quest and a form of magic although David made sure that Styric was extremely hard to master, as well as being extremely draining, to provide less evidence of his Superman Syndrome. The disgruntled Sparhawk is certainly not the archetypal hero, despite being the best knight in the world. There is no resident wizard, but rather close interaction with pagan Gods, one of whom eventually becomes Sparhawk’s daughter, Danae, in a stretch of the theological imagination. The Tamuli #''Domes of Fire'' #''The Shining Ones'' #''The Hidden City'' After the initial success of the Elenium, it was obvious that a sequel would follow. Both David and his readers wanted to see how a man with no destiny would fare with a goddess for a daughter. Despite celebrating less popularity than its predecessor, ‘The Tamuli,’ proved a worthy sequel. Standalone fantasy novels *''The Redemption of Althalus'' The Redemption of Althalus is a simple tale about a thief who mends his ways. Within this story, however, is a strange, twisted, fantasy world, unlike anything David and Leigh had created before. A group of people, with various unusual gifts, are all brought together into a house where time stands still and has doors to every conceivable place on the planet. Time and its effect on relationships between people are dealt with, within an adventurous quest. As the people in the house form bonds with each other, David wanted to explore what would happen if they found out that they were all related, the children of a goddess and her mortal lover. A theme previously dealt with in the Belgariad was how humans conceive form, that if a sentience was in an animal a human would not touch it, but if it were in the form of another human, one would happily sleep with it. Other Fantasy Series The Dreamers is the most recent series by David and Leigh Eddings. ''The Dreamers'' #''The Elder Gods'' #''The Treasured One'' #''Crystal Gorge'' #''The Younger Gods'' After the publication of his thriller, David decided to concentrate on fantasy once more and, with his wife, began work on ‘The Dreamers.’ The final book of this saga was published in 2006, although many of David’s fans feel that it did not contain as much appeal as his previous books, and that the characters were too reminiscent of those in the Belgariad. Despite the luke warm anticipation awaiting the publication of ‘The Younger Gods,’ David Eddings still remains one of the most respected and successful authors of modern fantasies. Hundreds of fan sites now exist as a tribute to his work, along with several role-playing games, fan clubs and forums dedicated to his work. Heavy metal band Elenium not only derived their name from his work, but also base most of their songs around the fantastical sagas that David and his wife create together. Non-fantasy novels *''The Losers'' *''High Hunt'' *''Regina's Song'' 2001 brought yet more success to David and Leigh, with the publication of his third non-fantasy, ‘Regina’s Song.’ This thriller, set in David’s home town of Seattle, was also written in the first person, following the success of Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Regina’s Song is the tale of a twin driven insane by the death of her sister, who seeks revenge on the man who did it. The twist to this story was that one is never sure which twin was killed, especially at the end of the story where both people appear to be inside the mind of one woman. References ^ F.T. Norton (2007). Novelist accidentally burns down office. Nevada Appeal. Retrieved on January 27, 2007. ^ Décès de Leigh Eddings. Elbakin.net (2007). Retrieved on March 6, 2007. External links *Wikipedia Entry on David Eddings *Interview with David Eddings at sffworld.com *Bibliography at SciFan *Microsite hosted by HarperCollins publishers